Saturday, August 22, 2009

On the same night I made the Peach Crème Fraîche Crumble, I also baked these cookies. No, not (just) because I'm a crazy insomniac baker but because it was my friend and co-worker's birthday the following day. The first thing that came to mind was to bake her a cake, of course. My signature being a deep dark chocolate cake (which I promise to post about down the line) with frosting/filling varied according to each person's preference. But it turned out that she's not a fan of chocolate or even cakes in general. Luckily her enthusiasm for the ginger cookies I'd baked last winter came to mind, so I chose to make her a personal stash.Truly, these are a delight. Slightly crunchy on the outside with chewy innards (hehe). And don't shy away from the cayenne! It's just a little bit, so trust me, no one will notice other than to note that these cookies have just the right amount of spicy kick.Soft Ginger Cookies[Printable Recipe]Adapted from Cookie MadnessMakes about 34 medium cookies3/4 cup unsalted butter, cut up, still firm1 cup granulated sugar1 large egg1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract1/4 cup molasses (not blackstrap)2 1/2 cups all purpose or white whole wheat flour (11.1 oz) – spoon and sweep(Increased from the original since I used all butter and the dough was too soft)1 tsp baking soda1/4 tsp salt1/2 tsp cinnamon2 tsp ground ginger1/2 tsp ground cloves1 tsp cocoa powder1/4 tsp cayenne pepper1/3 cup sparkly sugar (I just used granulated)Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Have ready two or three large cookie sheets lined with parchment or silicone sheets.Using an electric mixer, beat butter until creamy. Add sugar, 1/4 cup at a time. Continue beating for another minute. Beat in egg, vanilla and molasses.In a separate bowl, thoroughly stir together the flour, soda, salt and remaining spices. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir until mixed.Shape dough into balls approximately 1 inch across. Roll the balls in sparkly (or granulated) sugar. Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheets and bake one sheet at a time on center rack of oven for about 12 minutes. Cookies should appear cracked on top but still slightly soft.

Those are gorgeous looking Ginger cookies, and I adore the addition of cayenne for that kick of heat.

That said, I was also reading your post about the delicious looking peach creme fraiche, and you're right, very easy to make. Only problem is, here in the US, it's hard to find heavy cream that isn't ULTRA pasteurized, so you never get as thick and lovely a creme fraiche as you would with just pasteurized or non pasteurized heavy cream :(